You're Mine (The Winters Family Series Book 3)

by Terra Kelly

  Just then Joshua walked back into the room holding a couple platefuls of goodies. His six-feet-four-inch body was fun to gaze at, especially certain areas of that long lean body. He looked at her and stopped dead in his tracks, then he sat down the plates on the coffee table, and went to sit beside her. “What happened?” He took his thumb and brushed tears from beneath both eyes. “Are your parents okay?”

  “They’re great, I promise. I miss my parents so much. Plus, just feeling frustrated a little, too. My parents and Gage got in a fight.”

  Joshua sat back on the couch. “Is that why Gage is here now?”

  “Yup. Gage has always been a handful, but he trusts me. So maybe it’s good he’s here now, maybe the distance can help their relationship. Well, I hope it will at least.”

  “He has a fantastic sister. Things will be fine. Plus, my family loved him, so he has lots of support.”

  She moved to face Joshua, startling Elvis who jumped off the couch. She rested her head against the back of the couch. “You’re a good man, Joshua. I feel lucky to get a second chance with you.” She reached for his hand, holding it in both of hers.

  “Yeah? Well, you’re not too bad yourself.” He pulled her hand toward him and leaned in to kiss it. She giggled, and he pulled her close to him. He squeezed her tight. “Hungry?”

  “After that workout we had, hell yeah!” She laughed and wiggled out of his embrace. “What did you make me?”

  He let out a full-belly laugh. “For us,” he teased, poking her side, and making her laugh. “I made a couple dips with some crackers. Sound okay?”

  She reached forward and dipped a cracker in some of the dip. “Hmmmm…Yum. You made this?”

  He looked at her startled. “Again, you doubt my kitchen skills? Huh, we may need to have a cook-off at some point, to prove my abilities.”

  She looked at him with excitement. “Now that would be fun. We need to do that. We should do it at your parents’ place. Only because I want to cook in that big gorgeous kitchen.” She laughed. “Think your mom would let us mess up her pretty kitchen?”

  He pulled her onto his lap. “I think she would want to be involved.” He bent and kissed her temple. “And Izzy would freak out if we didn’t involve her.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, this will be so much fun!”

  The next morning Joshua woke up at his normal time, trying not to rouse Kenzie. When he sat up on the edge of the bed, warm arms wrapped around his waist. He looked down and smiled as she rested her head on his thigh. “Well good morning, my sexy stalker.” He brushed his fingers down the side of her face. “Care to join me in the shower?”

  “Hmmm… we did say, no more showers alone.” She then shocked him by leaning forward and kissing his arousal. Then she untangled herself from him and stood beside the bed with her hand outstretched for him to take.

  After they spent way too long in the shower, they both were getting Joshua ready for work. Kenzie was in the kitchen putting together a simple little lunch. Plus, she made an egg, cheese, and ham burrito for his on-the-go breakfast. He walked into the kitchen and took in a deep breath. “I think I better get up earlier or shower the night before.”

  She laughed. “Whichever you choose is fine by me. I love this whole co-showering thing.” She handed him his lunch, and his burrito, which was ready to be devoured while walking to school. She leaned up and kissed him, then pushed him toward the door. “See you later, gorgeous.”

  He laughed, turned to head down the steps, and raised his hand with the burrito. “See you later, beautiful!”

  She stood at the door watching him walk down the sidewalk until he was too far away to see. She then leaned up against the door, sighed, and laughed. Oh my god, what had gotten into her lately? She couldn’t get enough of the man. He created feelings she didn’t even know she had inside her. She walked to the coffee pot, in need of coffee. Made an extra burrito and sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy the simple breakfast. She looked around, shaking her head. Looking at the crazy puppies. “Is it okay I took over your space?” Elvis got up and walked to her, sitting down and resting against her leg. “So, I’ll take that as a yes from you, Elvis. Costello, not so much, eh?”

  She knew she had a couple hours to kill, so she made a detour on the way to work today. She had to run home and change. Was it time to take more clothes to Joshua’s house or was it too soon? So many thoughts running around in her brain as she walked into her house. Gage was lying on the couch with the remote in his hand. He looked bored and never looked her way when she walked into the house. She rolled her eyes as she walked by the couch. “Good morning to you, too. Going to find a job maybe today?”

  He made an audible sound, that sounded like, “Humphf.” She stopped in the doorway. “Hey, you awake over there? I talked to dad last night.”

  He looked her way. “What?”

  Looking frustrated. “Dad. You know the man who raised us and took care of us? He called last night, indicated that you left mad, and never said where you were going. You know they’re worried about you, right?”

  He sat up on the couch, leaned forward to place the remote on the coffee table. Then he looked Kenzie’s way. “I’m tired of fighting with them. That’s why I thought I would come over here and be closer to you.”

  She walked over and sat down on the arm of the couch “Well, you know you can stay here with me.” Laughing, she teased, “Well you can stay at the house I don’t sleep in much. I hate you all fight so much. Maybe with some distance you all can become closer. It’s time.” She stood up. “I need to change and head out for the day.”

  As Kenzie walked out of the room, Gage said, “Kenzie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  She smiled and headed to her room to get dressed.

  A couple weeks later, Kenzie was sitting at the counter in her boutique. She had school work in front of her and her face was turning deep crimson. Balling up another piece of paper, she threw it toward the wastebasket, but missed. She wanted to scream.

  The little bell on the door chimed, looking up, she about freaked out. She closed the textbooks and placed them below the counter. “Hi Mrs. Winters… I mean, Connie.”

  Connie walked to the front counter and sat her purse down. She looked around the boutique. “Good morning, sweetie. It looks lovely in here.”

  Feeling a little uncomfortable. “Um, thank you so much. I’m so happy with how everything turned out, and several locals love coming here now.”

  Connie smiled. “Well, this town needed a place like this, you did a great thing opening it here.” She pulled out her wallet. “I need you to do me a favor?”

  Looking curious. “Sure. What do you need?”

  “Well, Drew and Isabel have to pay for half of the wedding dress. I guess that was a deal her and her parents set. Jim and I want to pay the other half, but Drew said no. I’m curious, have they finalized the payment yet?”

  Kenzie laughed. “Nope. It’s in the back and ready to be altered if need be. Isabel said, she would pay when it was time to grab it.”

  “Perfect. So, she owes about $2,000 still?”

  Kenzie pulled up Isabel’s account on the computer. “Yes, $2,012.86 to be exact.”

  Connie handed her credit card to Kenzie. “Well, please put that balance on my credit card. I will take care of telling them, you don’t have to worry about thing.”

  Swiping the card. “This is sweet of you, Connie.”

  She made a sound that showed what she was doing was not a big deal. “I love Izzy already so much. She and Drew are just perfect together. It is the least I could do for them.”

  Kenzie smiled. “She is fantastic!”

  Just then the bell chimed again, but this time two people walked in. Kenzie looked up and smiled. “Hi there! Connie and I were just getting excited over your wedding.” Kenzie did that to clue Connie in on who had just walked into the shop.

  Isabel and Shawna walked up to the co
unter, in unison. “Only thirty more days!”

  Connie and Kenzie burst out laughing, Kenzie was still laughing. “But who’s counting, right?”

  Connie went to hug Isabel and meet Shawna. Isabel looked at Connie a little curious. “I love getting to see you here, but what brought you this way?” In a joking voice, she said, “You do have that teeny tiny figure we all loathe.”

  Connie paused for a moment. Kenzie could tell she was lost for words. “I asked her to stop by the shop when she had a moment.” Connie looked at her confused, Kenzie smiled, “Joshua and I have challenged one another to a cook-off. We thought it would be fun to have the cook-off in that big gorgeous kitchen of yours!”

  Izzy laughed. “Joshua in a cook-off? I have got to see this one, need a sous chef for the fun?”

  Connie looked toward Izzy. “He is a good cook. He doesn’t cook enough until now.” Then she looked at Kenzie. “Did he plan or make you something?”

  Kenzie laughed. “Last night, he said he threw together two different dip recipes. They were amazing. So, I questioned him making them, and now here we are, cook-off.”

  “We call him the “dip chef” in the family.”

  “Seriously?”

  Connie gathered up her wallet and placed it back in her purse. “Yup, and he makes some amazing dips. I would love to have the cook-off at our house. When should we have it?”

  Isabel looked a little too excited. “Let’s do it when Alex, Alyssa, and Lexie are in town. They will be here in two weeks. They love food fun, too.”

  Connie clapped her hands together. “Oh, what a great idea. I can’t wait to see them all and give little Lexie a big hug.”

  Kenzie smiled. “Wow, two chefs involved? The pressure will be on. Maybe they will be the judges?”

  Izzy squealed with delight. “Oh my, yes. That’s a great idea, Kenzie. I will have to give Alex a call tonight and share the news.”

  Connie put her purse on her shoulder. “Okay girls, behave and have a wonderful day.” Turning toward Kenzie. “Thank you. I look forward to being a part of the cook-off.” She leaned over the counter and kissed Kenzie’s cheek.

  As the door behind Connie closed, Isabel looked at Kenzie. “That’s the only reason she stopped by?”

  Kenzie turned her head to the side. “Um, yeah, why?”

  Isabel laughed. “Well, Connie and Jim are determined to pay for the balance on my wedding dress. We told them no, but Connie always gets what she wants. So, when I saw her here, I assumed. I mean, they’re already paying for most of the wedding because they want to.”

  Shawna smiled. “Well, if she ends up paying for the dress, just say thank you. Heck, I wish I had parents that wanted to even contribute to my future wedding.” Isabel and Kenzie both had pained expressions on their faces. “Oh stop, I’m fine. They decided a long time again to not be a part of my life. Their loss, right?”

  Kenzie walked around the counter, then she and Izzy made Shawna into a red velvet cookie- by giving her the biggest bear hug. They each peppered the sides of her face with little kisses.

  Shawna was cracking up. “Oh my god, what the hell? You two are crazy.” Then she leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed both their cheeks. “Okay, now you two need to get serious. We stopped by for a reason.”

  Isabel stepped back, still laughing a little. “Yes. Kenzie, guess what?”

  Kenzie looked excited. “Chicken butt?”

  Isabel shook her head, laughing more. “No. Shawna is yours, her last day at the TV station was yesterday. Which I might add, sucks.”

  Kenzie looked excited. “Rock on. I was doing homework all morning and about to punch someone. I need to do something away from the shop, so I can think.” Grabbing Shawna’s hands, she asked, “The shop closes at 5:00 p.m. every day, so you can work any day of the week, right?”

  Putting her hands above her head. “I’m all yours to use and abuse, baby.” Bringing her hands back down, Shawna looked at both women. “Well, let’s not use and abuse, but I am ready for anything.”

  “Well then, what are we waiting for, let’s get you trained?”

  Shawna was standing by the window at Curvalicious Boutique when she heard sirens off in a distance. She walked outside to get a better view of what could be happening. Annie, the owner of the gift shop next door poked her head out. “Did you hear the sirens or am I imagining it?”

  Shawna looked over at Annie with a concerned look. “You heard them.”

  A fire truck came barreling down the road and stopped across the street. Shawna and Annie both stood there, worried. They knew it couldn’t be a fire, there was no smoke anywhere. Also, the firefighters were not in their gear, so it had to be an injury.

  Shawna had been at the boutique for over a week and loved her new schedule. Now she could perform about four nights a week, instead of just two. The crowds had built because of her added performances. Last night, she noticed Danny in the crowd. After she finished her set, she was walking toward the bar for a much needed drink. He was at a high-top table by the door and looking her way. He nodded, then headed out for the night. It was odd why didn’t he say hi to her? Did he know she wasn’t ready for anything serious? Or hell, did he even think about her, like she fantasized about him- every night?

  Danny and Drew were called to a scene where a store employee had collapsed and was unconscious. They had arrived first and were checking vitals. When the ambulance arrived, the guys let them take over. Danny was walking back to the truck when his skin electrified. There was only one person who could make him feel that way. He looked up to see Shawna standing by the door of the boutique. He headed her way, doubting this decision, but his feet were moving of their own volition.

  Shawna’s heart rate increased just by looking at him. Now she had to speak to him, great. She smiled. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself. I thought I should let you both know everything is okay. The employee collapsed but should be fine.”

  Annie sighed. “Oh, thank god. Thanks for letting us know, I better head back inside. Take care.”

  Shawna waved. “Take care, Annie.” Then she turned toward Danny, and asked, “You didn’t have to come all the way over here.”

  Danny glanced over at the ambulance loading the employee into the back. “I know.” Then he met her gaze. “But I wanted to. You looked amazing last night.”

  The day was gorgeous, maybe around 80 with low humidity. At that moment, it felt like 100% humidity. Feeling uncomfortable, she looked down at her hands. “Thanks.”

  “With that performance, I’m surprised to see you uncomfortable today.”

  She looked up. “What does that mean?”

  He put his hands up in surrender. “Nothing at all. Just, well, you seem so free and happy on the stage.” He noticed Drew hop into the truck. “I better head out.” He paused for a moment, then nodded. “See you around.”

  She nodded, because she had somehow lost her voice at that moment. She walked back inside when Kenzie walked up. Shawna looked at Kenzie and cleared her throat. “Well hey there, how did the practice round go?”

  Kenzie glanced at Shawna, then at Danny heading back to the fire truck. She walked up to Shawna and put her arm around her shoulders. “Um, my practice round is not the hot topic at the moment.” They headed back into the shop together. Kenzie turned, and asked, “So, everything okay?”

  “Everything is great. We were kind of busy today.”

  Kenzie headed to the front counter to put her stuff away. “Oh no you don’t. Why was the fire truck parked across the street? And, why was your future man walking away from the shop?”

  “Oh my god, he wasn’t in the shop,” she said, sighing. “An employee across the street had collapsed. After the ambulance arrived, he walked over to let me know everything was okay.”

  “Well that was nice of him. Have you both been talking more?”

  Letting out a snort of laughter. “Hell no. He enjoyed my performance last night, and no, I didn’t know he was there.
I saw him leave when I headed to the bar to grab water.”

  Kenzie looked shocked. “He left without talking to you first? Wow, that’s interesting.”

  “Oh don’t read too much into it, lots of people go to the shows, and don’t stick around after.”

  “Um… no, there’s more going on here, but what?”

  After a great practice test for her GED, she was feeling confident. She was curled up on the end of her sofa, looking at the math section of the test. One thing was for sure, she still hated math even after all these years. That shit never made sense to her, and she tried to make the foreign language mean something. She heard a light knock and rose to see who was there at this hour. When she pulled back the little curtain on her door, Joshua was standing there. She unlocked the door. “I thought you said you were busy tonight!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Then she leaned up and gave him a heart stopping kiss. When she pulled back, they both looked dazed and confused.

  He laughed. “I love your greetings,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in tighter. “I was busy, but not anymore. I missed having you at my house.”

  She smiled up into those delicious hazel eyes. “We can head to your place instead if you want. Gage will be home in about an hour, so not much privacy here.” Then she rubbed against his ever-growing erection, and teased, “And you know how I like having privacy with you.”

  “Hmmmm… yes, I do.” He ground into her, loving the contact. “Want to take my car or drive separate?” Then he bent to nip at her earlobe and kiss that sweet spot behind her ear.

  She pulled away. “Your car. Let’s grab my stuff. I need math help tonight, think you have time for some teaching?”

  He laughed. “Let’s use your delicious body to practice math. We could write problems on your skin. Maybe count each freckle.”